Hope springs eternal in the human heart. (Alexander Pope)
When the world fails us; when all is lost and when there is darkness all around, there is still one thing that sustains a human heart- Hope. Hope, like a good Captain, does not leave the sinking ship. When one is at loggerheads with destiny, it is only hope that prevails. Do you know why? Well, the answer to the conundrum lies in the mysterious Pandora’s Box!
According to the Greek folklore provided by the poet Hesiod in Works and Days, Pandora was the first human woman created on the instructions of Zeus in order to devise a suitable punishment for mankind. Zeus instructed Hephaestus to mould a woman from earth and goddess Athena dressed her up in a silvery gown, ornamented crown, embroidered veil and garlands. Though Pandora was bewitchingly and breathtakingly beautiful, she was a “beautiful evil” whose descendents would, ultimately, torment the human race. Hesiod writes about her progeny as,
For from her is the race of women and female kind: of her is the deadly race and tribe of women who live amongst mortal men to their great trouble, no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but only in wealth.
The story of Pandora originates from the story of Prometheus’s attempt at stealing fire for human beings. Legend has it that at a banquet hosted for the Gods and the first humans, Prometheus- a Titan who had sworn his loyalty to the Olympians, served food to both, under clever disguise. He placed the juicy portions of the ox’s flesh and fatty portions of meat inside the ox’s stomach and served it to the Gods. The dish seemed extremely unpalatable to Zeus, who found the ox’s bones served under a layer of fat to the humans, rather tempting.
Zeus accused Prometheus of favouring the humans and in his fit of rage decided to penalize mankind by creating the first human woman, Pandora. Zeus requested all the gods to grant one quality each to Pandora that should make her the most desired woman ever. Zeus, then, ordered the messenger of Gods, Hermes to deliver Pandora to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother, who was to take Pandora as his wife. Prometheus had forewarned his brother not to accept any gifts from Zeus. However, Epimetheus was so bewitched by her beauty that he readily accepted Pandora as his wife.
At their wedding, Zeus gifted a jar to Pandora. This jar contained all the evil and horrible things of the world like envy, greed, hatred, pain, disease, hunger, poverty, etc. Zeus, in order to exact his revenge on mankind, warned Pandora to never open it, while fully aware that Pandora’s curiosity would take the better of her. Pandora was soon overcome with the desire to open the jar and so she did, thereby unleashing all the evils on to the world. She instantly realized her mistake and slammed the lid shut. By the time she put the lid back, miseries had taken over the world and there was only one thing left in the jar- Hope!
So, whenever you feel deserted, betrayed, cheated or let down by others, always remember that bad things have been released and now you are left with only one thing- Hope, for hope is the last occupant of Pandora’s Box; hope is the light at the end of the tunnel and hope is what sustains mankind.
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